Building an Experimental Design Culture: Part 1 Henson

Of course, seeing the Muppets up close was fun. Miss Piggy was resplendent and Rowlf looked even more good-natured in the fleece. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by all of the advertising work that Henson and his team did early on. Especially cool were the really challenging station ID ads - all of eight seconds long - that the Henson crew worked up with super simple four-beat storyboards.

All that was great.

What I really can't stop thinking about is the movie we watched in the beginning of the exhibit. The quick overview of Henson's life and approach to work then encouraged me to pick up a copy of It's Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider. It's a little gift shop gem, and correspondingly sappy but that's the point.

I think the way Jim Henson blended excitement, excellence, craft, and experimentation with humanity, lightness, and safety was pretty cool. Henson believed in hard work, that some ideas were better than others, that collaboration produced better results, that compassion was paramount, and that the journey was the reward.

Of course, seeing the Muppets up close was fun. Miss Piggy was resplendent and Rowlf looked even more good-natured in the fleece. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by all of the advertising work that Henson and his team did early on. Especially cool were the really challenging station ID ads - all of eight seconds long - that the Henson crew worked up with super simple four-beat storyboards.

All that was great.

What I really can't stop thinking about is the movie we watched in the beginning of the exhibit. The quick overview of Henson's life and approach to work then encouraged me to pick up a copy of It's Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider. It's a little gift shop gem, and correspondingly sappy but that's the point.

I think the way Jim Henson blended excitement, excellence, craft, and experimentation with humanity, lightness, and safety was pretty cool. Henson believed in hard work, that some ideas were better than others, that collaboration produced better results, that compassion was paramount, and that the journey was the reward.